Fabrication of Magnetic Molecularly Imprinted Beaded Fibers for Rosmarinic Acid

Abstract

The present study describes the fabrication of molecularly imprinted (MI) magnetic beaded fibers using electrospinning. Rosmarinic acid was selected as exemplary yet relevant template during molecular imprinting. A “design of experiments” methodology was used for optimizing the electrospinning process. Four factors, i.e., the concentration of the biodegradable polymer (polycaprolactone), the applied voltage, the flow rate, and the collector distance were varied in a central composite design. The production process was then optimized according to the suitability of the beaded fibers during microrobot fabrication, actuation, and drug release. The optimum average fiber diameter of MI beaded fibers was determined at 857 ± 390 nm with an average number of beads at 0.011 ± 0.002 per µm2. In vitro release profiles of the optimized MI beaded fibers revealed a lower burst rate and a more sustained release when compared to control fibers. Magnetic control of the MI beaded fibers was successfully tested by following selected waypoints along a star-shaped predefined trajectory. This study innovatively combines molecular imprinting technology with magnetic microrobots enabling targeted drug delivery systems that offer precise motion control via the magnetic response of microrobots along with selective uptake of a drug into the microrobot using MI beaded fibers in future.

A Review on Electrospinning as Versatile Supports for Diverse Nanofibers and Their Applications in Environmental Sensing

“…Owing to their unique structure, they can be applied in different applications. Moreover, it has become possible to carry out the corresponding theoretical modelling on the formation of beaded fibers with the rapid advancement in electrospinning technology in the recent years [ 30 , 49 , 50 ].…”

Polymeric Micro/Nanomotors and Their Biomedical Applications

“…solution, various structures can be obtained. [29] Especially, when solution concentration varies from high, medium and low, the resulting polymer microstructures can be fibers, bead fibers, and beads correspondingly. [30] At present, electrospinning method that greatly simplifies synthesis process and facilitates massive production is already utilized to produce polymeric micro or nanomotors.…”

Development of a polyallylamine hydrochloride hydrogel imprinted with xylose for the purification of xylose from sugar mixture

“…By using molecular imprinting technology (MIT), it is possible to create new materials, called molecular imprinting polymer or MIP, bearing the spatial structure of the targeted molecules. After the removal of the targeted molecules, the MIP will have a cavity on its surface which has unique preference towards the targeted molecules similar to the lock‐and‐key model (Saad et al ., 2020). The MIPs can be made by incorporating functional monomers with a template molecule to form a precomplex via covalent (Okutucu & Onal, 2011; Peng et al ., 2016; Shahar et al ., 2016) or noncovalent bonds (Lasagabaster‐Latorre et al ., 2013; Lyu et al ., 2020).…”